Work on new Beach park to begin soon
Work on the barren Gulf front area on Fort Myers Beach near Times Square, which has been roped off since it was purchased by Lee County, is expected to begin soon and hopes are it will become a park by the end of the year, according to county official Barbara Manzo. The area has been called county park, beach park and Seafarer’s Park to name a few.
The director of Lee County Parks & Recreation department stated the acquisition of permits has been the reason for the delay. Once the permits are in place, the plan is to get the area secured and safe for the upcoming tourist season.
“We would like to get the work completed by the end of December if the permits allow,” stated Manzo in an email.
While no names for the yet-to-be-constructed county park have been suggested or disclosed at this time, the level of work to be performed has. Manzo stated that county workers will be “cleaning up the leftover construction debris, removing all concrete and blacktop and adding grass and sand as appropriate” to the lots at 1080 and 1130 Estero Blvd.
“There should be a swath of grass from the sidewalk towards the beach in a curvilinear pattern with paths going through it,” she stated in the email.
The property will then have the addition of sand, benches and trashcans, while the “top of the old seawall will be removed and capped for safety. The lower wall will remain and be repaired.”
Two or three beach accesses with stairs are expected to lead from the property to the shoreline.
“A railing for safety and native plantings will be placed at the top of the wall in front of the railing,” stated Manzo. “We will also landscape the entire property.”
As far as parking, the county parks director stated workers will “pour a new concrete pad” for two handicapped spaces only on the south side of the property where there will be a handicapped access to the beach.
County officials have continuously met with officials from the Town of Fort Myers Beach as well as Turtle Time, Inc. and Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The meetings are to insure proposals for the work will satisfy and are in conjunction with the Town’s approval.
Once the park is up and running, many ideas to enhance the park will be added to the concept of the park’s future. Suggestions range from a veteran’s memorial to pavilion to an entertainment stage to arches, according to FMB Mayor Larry Kiker.
“If you look at statistics by the VCB (Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau), the No. 1 place that people go to in Lee County is our pier,” Kiker said and noted that suggestions for park features are being collected at www.ideas@fortmyersbeachfl.gov. “My guess is that if you put those arches down there, it’ll be a top spot for people to take pictures of the sunsets, weddings and other occasions. If I had my say-so, we’d incorporate all the ideas. But, what we need to do now, is get the park safe, secure and usable for season.”
Kiker said the intent of getting the park open before the new year is within his expectations. He agrees safety is the top priority.
“I look forward to people being able to use that space by bringing their kids and families,” he said. “And, after that, I look forward to developing the amount of ideas that people have come forward with and will be coming forward with.”
The Beach mayor still hopes the park property and the Seafarer’s Mall property across the street will aid in the traffic congestion on Estero Boulevard.
“The main reason we wanted to go after that property is to see if we can do something with the traffic (problem) on Estero. That (area of Estero Boulevard) has been the bottleneck since day one,” said Kiker.
In the meantime, whatever name is chosen for the park will be secondary to what it offers.
“The County is happy to be able to add more beachfront to our inventory of regional parks for everyone to enjoy,” stated Manzo. “Especially, at this time, when open space in the form of beachfront is almost impossible to find and secure so that it will always remain in the public trust.”